Had enough anglicisms? | Macmillan discusses the influence of Spanish and English language on each other. The author, Joseph Persico, explains how the flow of the words in both directions effects both languages and supports his idea with very interesting facts. For example, "according to the Oxford Dictionary 1,650 words have entered English directly from the Spanish" ( like: potato, avocado, tequila, hurricane, chili,chocolate.....)
For those who are the language teachers it is very important to know where the words are coming from because it might be helpful while explaining many of students' concerns. For example, the pronunciation of the word "ghost" and silent "h" can be explained by tracking where this word came from.
Having so many cognates between Spanish and English helps language learners too, but teachers often have to point these out or learners don't realize the relationship.
ReplyDeleteDr. Burgos